


Take Me To the Ball

by Quiet_Shadow



Series: Summer Days Prompts [31]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Twins, Boy-Who-Lived (Harry Potter), Gen, Hogwarts Fourth Year, Hufflepuff Harry Potter, Protective Siblings, Sibling Love, Trans Female Character, Yule Ball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 07:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15505359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quiet_Shadow/pseuds/Quiet_Shadow
Summary: Alternate Universe.The Yule Ball is near and the Potter twins have plans for the night. Sure, Harry Potter said he wouldn't go and Robbie Potter, the Boy Who Lived, needs to open the Ball with the other Champions. So the identity of the male dancer is already known, isn't it?But, as Harry likes to point out to his brother, “People see what they want to see.”And Robbie never said who was the girl he invited, did he?





	Take Me To the Ball

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to give a try to the whole 'Twin Harry'/'Wrong Boy Who Lived' thing. But I didn't want Harry and his OC sibling to have a bad relationship. Instead, I wanted something sweet or at least supportive. Then my mind went out to try and find ideas of how that supports shows -- and I decided to also try the idea of writing a Trans character.
> 
> See end notes for infos. :)

It had taken some very careful planning to come to this point.  
First, they had needed to publicize and explain Harry’s absence from the upcoming Yule Ball – which had beIt had taken some very careful planning to come to this point.  
“The Ball might be mandatory for the Champions, since they need to open it, but it’s optional for everyone else. Excuse me if, in that case, I prefer having a quiet and restful evening,” the green-eyed Fourth Year pointed out when asked.  
That seemed to satisfy most people; Harry was considered to be generally friendly and helpful by his fellow students, but he was not a social butterfly and he had always felt reluctance to attend parties. And he had further excuses to give  
“Being mistaken for your twin brother and talked to with enthusiasm by adults getting too close for comfort until they realize their mistake and push you asides or glare at you as if you were the one at fault for their mistake will do that to you,” he pointed out to fellow Hufflepuffs Susan Bones and Ernie MacMillan when they asked him, bewildered, why he wouldn’t be coming. Having both attended receptions at the Ministry of Magic and witnessed such events themselves, they had the good sense of blushing and let the matter drop. “Sorry I can’t take you, Susan.”  
“No problem, Harry.”  
And that was the end of it as far as Harry was concerned.  
For Robbie, though, things had been much tougher.  
Unlike Harry, who could fade in the background easily enough once people realized he wasn’t his brother, Robbie was constantly in the eye of the public. When it wasn’t because of the whole ‘Boy-Who-Lived’ thing, it was because he had been chosen as the Fourth Champion of the Triwizard tournament, or because he had lost Gryffindor an insane amount of points or because… well, whatever. Things kept happening around him and forced him to stay at the center of the crowd, much to his despair.  
Fending off potential partners for the upcoming Ball had been a trial in itself and he would have preferred to face the Magyar again than facing angry witches who didn’t seem to understand that no, he wouldn’t take them to the Ball.  
“I already have a dance partner,” he insisted again and again, crushing many hopes.  
Some thought he wasn’t being serious, because Robbie Potter had yet to name who the lucky girl accompanying would be, and he refused to tell. All sorts of rumors flew thank to that. “I already have a partner,” he repeated between clenched teeth and with such a cross look on his face that after a moment, people simply started backing out. Robbie Potter was known to be very good at hexes when he wanted to.  
“Honestly, mate, if you don’t tell them who, they’ll never leave you alone,” his fellow Gryffindor Ron Weasley pointed out.  
Robbie sighed. “What does a guy have to do to have a private life around here?”  
“Not being you, I guess. So, about the Ball…?”  
Robbie hesitated. “… A pen-pal of Harry,” he admitted to Ron after looking around to make sure nobody was listening too closely. “He had planned to invite her before he decided to opt out of the whole mess and asked me if I could take her instead.”  
And that was all he said on the subject. Of course it led to more rumors, because even if he hadn’t spoken very loud and Ron had held his tongue, there were always listening ears everywhere. But the explanation was easily accepted as well; everybody knew Harry Potter liked to write letters to witches and wizards outside Hogwarts – he had even met two of his pen-pals for the first time when the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations had arrived for Halloween. Perhaps it was one of them? Or perhaps a homeschooled witch?  
In truth, it was neither.  
“It’s never going to work,” Robbie said worriedly as he locked the door of his dormitory behind him with as many spells as he could – he had warned the others he wanted intimacy to dress up, so hopefully it wouldn’t appear too weird. It wasn’t as if it was the first time either and the students sharing his dormitory were used to his quirks.  
“It will,” Harry said with quiet certainly as he removed the Invisibility cloak he had used to follow Robbie insides Gryffindor’s Tower. Such a useful thing! Sometimes, he wished their father had left it in his possession – but James Potter had gifted it to Robbie instead. Just like he had bought Robbie a Nimbus 2000, then a Nimbus 2001 – despite Robbie not playing Quidditch and being, in truth, afraid to fly. Harry was the Quidditch player, but did anyone thought about it? Noooo, of course… Well, no one but Robbie, who had immediately gave him both brooms to use and offered him leather protections for their last birthday.  
But nevermind. Now wasn’t the time to brood over old griefs like the parental style of the Potters. Harry was here on a mission, and that mission was to help Robbie be _herself_ for once.  
“I’m serious, Harry. People aren’t stupid, they’ll notice,” Robbie insisted, removing her glasses and nervously playing with them. “And if Mom and Dad learn about it…”  
“People see what they want to see,” the other bespectacled boy replied calmly, as if they hadn’t had the exact same argument a dozen times before. “Once we’re done, they won’t associate you with the Boy Who Lived. As for our parents, who will tell them? Certainly not you, nor I. And Marlene will be going on for the holidays, since she couldn’t find someone to take her to the Ball,” he reminded his brother.  
Robbie let out a sigh of relief; she loved their sister dearly but at eleven years old, Marlene could hardly keep a secret to herself and she loved to babble at their parents. One wrong word, and the masquerade would be over. “Merlin, I can’t believe we’re really doing it. You’re absolutely certain…?”  
“What we’re doing is not against the rules,” Harry stated plainly. “Professor McGonagall said you had to open the Ball as a Champion. She never precised you needed to do it as a boy,” Harry pointed out. “Everyone will see Robbie Potter dancing; they just won’t know who is really Robbie.”  
That was the beauty of the plan, after all – and the beauty of having a twin who was ready to do anything for you to be yourself for once. Harry could go posing as Robbie while Robbie would be free to go dressed as herself, free of expectations.  
Robbie made a pale smile as she gingerly sat down on her bed. “You were always good at spotting loopholes; shouldn’t you be in Slytherin instead of Hufflepuff?”  
Harry winked his nervous brother – no, his nervous _sister_. “Shh, don’t destroy my cover,” he shushed. “Now, let’s start preparing, shall we? Where are my robes?”  
As Robbie took out of his trunk the dress robes their parents had selected for him (bottle green, to go along with his eyes, even if James had loudly claimed red would have been more fitting; honestly, couldn’t the guy let go of his Hogwarts years?), Harry started to pull out everything Robbie would need out of the moleskin bag hanging from his belt: make up, shoes, a dress under careful wrap,…  
“Are, uh, are those… panties?” Robbie asked, blushing as she pointed out an item Harry had just laid on the bed.  
“Charmed panties,” Harry nodded, as if he was seeing girl underwears everyday -- and perhaps he was, who could say? Certainly not Robbie. “The fabric has been spelled to hide away your, ah, to hide the bulge down there,” he gestured with his hand. “And there comes the corset,” he added as he pulled it out of the bad as well. “Charmed too; it’ll give your chest the illusion of relief.”  
“Where the hell did you get that, Harry?” Robbie asked with large eyes. Sure, she had trusted his brother to get everything Robbie needed, because if she had tried himself, she would have been bound to get caught, but that went beyond Robbie’s hopes.  
“I have my sources,” Harry grinned. “How about you go to shower and shave those legs and armpits while I finish taking everything out, eh? We’d better be fast; your friends will want the room back if they want to dress up in time for the Ball too.”  
So many things to do, so little time, he thought. Thankfully, Robbie had always been very fast. “It’s amazing,” she murmured as she looked at herself in the mirror. You would never had guessed she had a penis with those special panties on and, while the corset couldn’t give her real breasts, it helped shape her body into a hourglass-like figure that screamed ‘girl’ like nothing Robbie had ever worn before. “Do I need to add pads?” she asked her brother worriedly.  
“Only if you think there isn’t enough curves,” Harry reassured her. “Once you pass the dress, nobody will notice they’re not real anyway – and girls our age rarely have a big bust anyway.”  
“Lavender Brown and Eloise Midgen,” Robbie pointed out but Harry shrugged.  
“They’re special cases – and her breasts aren’t the first thing people notice about Eloise, they’re more focused on her pimples. Now, let’s get you in that dress, okay?”  
Actually, they started with the stockings, but nevermind. Robbie looked amorously at the light blue fabric that pooled around her legs and down to her ankles, hands patting the darker blue corsage where tiny white stars had been embroidered or tugging at the three quarter length, flaring sleeves as if she couldn’t believe they were real. “It’s so pretty,” she whispered.  
“I’m glad you think so; sorry I couldn’t consult you for the color,” Harry said, passing a hand in his hair. He had already changed into Robbie’s bottle green robes and had modified the shape of his glasses so they’d be the exact replica of Robbie’s. He only needed to add the scare to be his brother’s perfect duplicate. Well, that and do something about his hair; Robbie’s were a little longer than Harry’s.  
“I don’t mind; I love all colors,” Robbie assured him. “What’s next?”  
“The wig,” Harry said. “I trust you know what you want to do with it?”  
Robbie nodded eagerly; she had read so many Witch Weekly magazines to learn about hairstyles and wand moves to make a smooth and elaborated composition, she couldn’t wait to start. Still, she faltered a little. “Are you sure about the black?”  
“Unless you want to dye your eyebrows, that’s the best option we have,” Harry pointed out. “Don’t worry too much, I swear people won’t recognize you when I’m done with you, sis.”  
That mollified Robbie enough for her to lift her wand and start doing the wig. It required the judicious applications of hairpins and hair products and a curling iron, but in the end Robbie took a satisfied step back, admiring her work. Tiny braids on the side, spotted with little stars similar to those on her corsage, brought back and losing themselves into an elegant low chignon maintained by a star-spotted band, from where a trio of curled locks escaped and fell elegantly past shoulder level. It was gorgeous.  
She felt giddy as Harry helped her to put it on, and giddier even as Harry worked a few locks to fall over her forehead to hide the scar that made her so famous – which he also helped plaster a lot of makeup on. “I wish mine was on my collarbone too,” she mumbled as she looked at the results; you couldn’t see the scar anymore, which was good.  
“It sure is more discreet,” Harry nodded distractedly, thinking about his own lightning shaped scar. “Can you apply your own makeup or do you need help?”  
Robbie gave him a light tap on his wrist. “Really, Harry, makeup is a girl’s business; I won’t have any trouble with that.” She looked at herself in the mirror, then her smile dimmed. “I look pretty… but I still look like myself. We should stop there, Harry, it won’t…”  
“It will work, sis,” Harry shook his head. “We aren’t finished yet. You haven’t imagined I didn’t think of everything, did you? Here are all we need to make sure you’ll go to the ball like that Cinder girl in Aunt Petunia’s fairy tales book.”  
Robbie blinked at the pair of oval glasses, the choker necklace and the pair of clip-on earrings Harry had disposed on the bed. “I fail to see… Wait; Charmed items?” she asked her twin with trepidation.  
“Yep,” Harry replied with a grin. “Here, let me show you,” he said as he passed the choker around Robbie’s neck and fastened it. “Say something.”  
“Something,” Robbie replied dryly before stilling utterly and putting a hand to her throat. “Was that… my voice?” she asked again, eyes wide with shock. It didn’t sound like it at all! It sounded… it sounded feminine! It sounded like a real girl’s voice! “Harry!” she cried as she threw herself at her brother.  
“Hey, careful here,” her twin laughed. “It’s a simple voice-modification spell. Keep the choker on and no one will recognize your voice. And that’s not all; those earrings, here? They put a Disillusionment Charm over the wearer’s face; it’ll subtly alter your face so it’s virtually unrecognizable by onlookers. And the glasses are Charmed with another Disillusionment Charm as well as a Color Charm; people looking at you will see your eyes as blue.”  
“Not hazel?” Robbie asked, head tilted to the side.  
Harry shrugged. “I didn’t want to make people accidentally think of Dad; blue seemed more neutral anyway, and it goes with your dress.”  
“Yes, there is that,” Robbie murmured. She looked at herself in the mirror again. “You won’t make me believe you could gather all those things without gathering attention, though.”  
“You’d be surprised,” her brother answered. “It wasn’t that hard; I just needed to ask the right persons.”  
Robbie’s heart skipped a bit. “The right persons?”  
Harry gave a small smile. “Silly little sister,” he teased; “You didn’t think you were the only person with gender issues in Hogwarts, did you?”  
“Others? Others like me?” Robbie repeated aloud, full of wonder. “Who…?”  
“Now, that is a secret, sis,” Harry answered with a finger on his lips. “Sorry, sis, but I promised. And it’s not my secret to share anyway.”  
Robbie nodded slowly in understanding. If she had been in their place, she’d have done the same. Still, knowing there were others who understood, who had the same problem she did… It soothed an ache inside herself, an ache so deep and carried for so long she hadn’t realized how painful it had been until now. “Do they know for me?”  
“No,” Harry answered forcefully. “I make sure they wouldn’t. I wouldn’t trust your secret with anyone when that Sneeker woman keeps bypassing security.”  
Robbie shuddered at the reminder. That woman was horrible. If she ever learned about Robbie’s secret… “Oh, Harry, can we really pull it through?” she asked, feeling weary and tired. She wanted to be herself so badly, but was it really worth the risk?  
Harry put his hands on her sister’s shoulders and squeezed. “Sis, I wouldn’t have proposed the idea if I didn’t think we could do it. Which reminds me, did you choose a name? I can’t exactly call you Robbie all the night.”  
_(Sometimes, the people wondered about the Potter brothers – especially Robbie. He wasn’t a typical Gryffindor; Robbie Potter wasn’t a risk-taker. He was more likely to prefer sitting near the fire with a good book over going on adventures. He liked flowers and birdwatching and things that weren’t quite manly, such as needlework and dolls and pretty robes. He felt no interest for Quidditch and disliked flying in general. Harry Potter easily faded into the background; he wasn’t famous like his brother was. Many thought he’d be bitter – always the unfavorite next to his twin, to his three younger siblings. He wasn’t. Harry adored Robbie – and Robbie adored Harry back. Harry loved his brothers and sister, even if Marlene couldn't hold her tongue and Jim could be a brat and Alfie didn't quite understand that Harry couldn't spend the whole day playing with him. Harry was a good student, even if people rarely noticed because he was a Hufflepuff. James Potter often bemoaned the fact, much to the twins’ annoyance; so what if Harry wasn’t in Gryffindor? Grandma Euphemia hadn’t been either. Harry was also a great Quidditch player. And he was plenty courageous, even if he didn’t wear red and gold robes.)_  
(Harry wasn’t jealous; he had enough sense to see how damaging the pressure was for Robbie – and that was without the other issues as well. What could a brother do but be kind and understanding when they knew their parents and the world at large wouldn’t understand.)  
(It takes a lot of courage to dare to be yourself in spite of what the world at large wants you to be; that’s why Robbie Potter is a Gryffindor. It takes a lot of dedication and loyalty to stand by your brother – no, your sister – no matter what and help her along despite every obstacle on your path; that’s why Harry Potter is a Hufflepuff.)  
(That wasn’t other people’s business, though.)

**Author's Note:**

> To clarify a few things, dear readers, if you're asking yourself questions:
> 
> \- Robbie's full name would be Robert Fleamont Potter; if Harry is named after his Great-Grandfather Henry Potter, Robert was named after his Muggle Great-Grandfather on Lily's side  
> \- Wherever Robbie is truly the Boy Who Lived isn't set in stone, as I'm not sure myself at this point ^^  
> \- Robbie and Harry asides, James and Lily have three other children in this universe: Marlene Euphemia, James Sirius 'Jim' and Alfred Remus 'Alfie'. By the time the school year 1994-1995 starts, only Marlene is old enough to attend Hogwarts, as a First Year.  
> \- While the Potters try to be good parents (try being the key word), they're not really objective when it comes to Robbie (or Harry) and have high expectations out of Robbie, which have been shaped and slowly impressed on them by the public, to the point they think their son ought to be/is what the Wizarding World sees Robbie as  
> \- Harry has been fully aware Robbie is actually his twin sister for years now and has been covering for her ever since, as both twins known their parents wouldn't react well to the revelation
> 
> I don't exclude the possibility to write more in this universe at some point.  
> I hope you enjoyed your reading :)


End file.
